Rising Bass Music Producer Thred Unravels His Story, Goals, Chats About His New Music & What Is To Come in 2023 via an Exclusive Artist Interview
Cloud Coverage By: Garth Jones
THRED
Minneapolis-based, popcorn enthusiast, and bass music producer Josh Johnson is best known under music alias as Thred. Over the past several years, Thred has been stacking an impressive amount of releases and has created quite the discography for himself in the process.
Harboring self-releases and record label representation via the likes of High Caliber Records (which he co-founded), Subsidia Records, Emengy, and Most Addictive to name a few – and is on an upward trajectory to not only lock in more; but has the world watching in awe as he continues to level up and tighten the laces on his vision, sound design, and overall connection between him and his fans.
With such an astonishing approach to his musical productions, creative direction, and ability to pump out tracks that are riveting and noteworthy – we figured we would stop the man in his tracks and have him answer some hot question on just who is Thred and what we can expect this forthcoming 2023 year.
Let’s get to know Thred, more about his music, and his fanaticism about popcorn.
Q1: Welcome to our storm front! Tell us, where did your musical journey begin and how did it lead to this point where you are today, as Thred?
Thred: Thanks for having me! It all started when I was just a spool of thread waiting to be used in some random article of clothing. While getting transported the truck collided with some sort of radioactive material, out from the wreckage Thred was born with the sole purpose of writing whatever music comes to mind regardless of the molds around. Seriously though, there isn’t much of a back story. For most of my life I wanted to make music (planned on hip-hop) and around 23-25 I just started. I never really took it seriously but over the years the better I got the more I loved it! I started to take it seriously maybe 2-3ish years ago. Really, I arrived where I am today just from the pure joy of making whatever comes to mind!
photo above: Thred | by: Mukwa Media
Q2: With your recent track “Manifest“ being released on Excision’s imprint Subsidia Records, how does that feel accomplishment-wise, and ultimately where did the idea come from?
Thred – It makes me feel like all the hard work is finally starting to come into play. From the start my sound design has been on the “weirder” spectrum but I’ve always stayed true to myself and what I liked and it feels amazing seeing how many people are moved by my sound. I don’t ever have an idea for a track, I get to my computer and whatever comes out comes out. I found out if I try to make a plan for music it doesn’t click with me so I just go with whatever comes to mind genre-wise and sound when I’m producing and run with it.
Q3: If you were to eat something right now, what would it be and how much popcorn is it?
Thred: 6 bags
Q4: What are some music goals you have set up for the new year as we enter 2023?
Thred: Lost Lands 2023 is the floor of our goals for the Thred project, as a team we like to keep our goals high because the sky’s the limit if you put your mind to it.
Q5: You are headlining your dream festival in 5 years – who is on your lineup?
Thred: Jilax, Ivory, Au5, Hilltop Hoods, Trip-Tamine, Beck, David Guetta b2b Dillon Francis, Memento Mori, Durs, SuperAve., Xotix, to name a few. Really, if I got to choose a festival lineup it would be obnoxiously diverse most artists would be very surprised or not recognize the other artists on the lineup.
Q6: What is some advice you can pass on to someone who wants to be in your shoes?
Thred: Work on your craft every day, even if you only end up working in the DAW for 20 min. You should try to do something towards your project. This could also mean searching for artist/label emails to send your music to. Ideas for social media posts, building a brand, etc. There is so much that needs to be done with your project that even if you’re not writing music you can still do something for it.
Q7: From sun up to sundown, what goes into the Day In The Life for Thred? Walk us through your master routine!
Thred: As a homeowner, working a full time day job at FedEx, with doing work for High Caliber, Thred, and Built Different Music Group. Everyday is pretty full. I get up around 5:30 – 6am to go work at FedEx, I run to each stop to get done ASAP, once I get home I make food, workout, then finish whatever house task needs to be done. Cleaning, Remodeling, maintenance, etc. Once I finally get to my computer I attempt to respond to whatever messages, emails, comments I can. Once everything is complete I can finally write some music. Depending on the day that might not happen until 9pm. If that is the case I’m likely not getting much sleep that night. Producing until I run out of ideas, or slow down on workflow. Which then I try to start doing some extra sound design or making samples for the future. Not going to lie, it’s a lot of work and makes it so I rarely have extra time to hang out with friends, or do anything besides “work”. As of right now it’s what needs to be done in order to “make it” the job is endless and I’m clocked in 24/7, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. So there is a little run down of the daily life of Thred, minus so many details.
Q8: For the producers out there. What hack/tip & trick can you share with them to make their music top tier Thred standard?
Thred: Find people who give you REAL feedback. Not just telling you your track is “Lit Bro” that doesn’t help. We all have room to improve and that can take longer when you’re not sure what to fix, or you don’t notice something is “off” if someone doesn’t point it out to you. This also doesn’t mean you have to get feedback from other producers. Friends, Family, people who don’t even listen to that genre, can be very helpful as well. As long as they truly tell you how they feel about the track. You can take what they say into consideration for that track and future ones. It’s all about progress. You won’t be writing the best sounding music at first, it takes years of practice. So be honest with yourself, and always keep pushing to make the next track better than the last.
Q9: What can you tell us about Built Different Music Group? What can we expect from you on this team in 2023?
Thred: It is a team we’re building of people with ambition to grow together and make as big of an impact in the music industry as possible. No one can do it alone. You need help, guidance, and support from a lot of different avenues. So we try to find those who are built differently, want to succeed in their field and have the passion to do it. Really, there is a lot to say, but also a lot I cannot say. So I’ll just end with our motto. In order to be built different, you need to be differently built.
Q10: Shoutout to anyone you feel has helped you get to where you are today! We can’t do it alone!
Thred: We definitely cannot do it alone! I wish I could take the time to shout-out everyone that made an impact on where I am today. It would be impossible to do, from past relationships, people I’ve talked to once that enjoyed my music, to High Caliber Records. Almost every interaction deserves credit in helping Thred become what it is today. So to whoever is reading this. Whether our interaction was bad or good I thank you and love you for the part you’ve played in helping me become what I am today!
photo above: Thred | by: Mukwa Media
Check out his new Crash EP | OUT NOW
Where can you catch Thred next? Here is a list of his upcoming event and festival appearances with ticket links provided:
Red Carpet Nightclub on 1/20 (St. Cloud, MN): [tickets here]
Soundwave (Iowa) on 3/25: [tickets here]
Astral Abyss on 8/24 – 8/27 (Waynesville, MN): [tickets here]
Thred Social Media
Thred Music Streaming
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